Magnet finds a Vanishing On 7th Street

Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, announced today that it has acquired U.S. rights to Brad Anderson’s Vanishing On 7th Street, which I posted an early trailer for HERE. Starring Hayden Christensen, John Leguizamo, Thandie Newton and R&B singer Jacob Latimore, Vanishing On 7th Street is described as a scary, character driven horror film that taps into one of humankind’s most basic and universal anxieties: fear of the dark. The film, which premiered at this year’s Toronto Film Festival, was produced by Norton Herrick, Tove Christensen and Mandalay Vision’s Celine Rattray, and is yet another unconventional genre entry from Anderson (Session 9, The Machinist, Transsiberian).

When a massive power outage plunges the city of Detroit into total darkness, a disparate group of individuals (Christensen, Leguizamo, Newton) find themselves alone. The entire city’s population has vanished into thin air, leaving behind heaps of empty clothing, abandoned cars and lengthening shadows. Soon the daylight begins to disappear completely, and as the survivors gather in an abandoned tavern, they realize the darkness is out to get them, and only their rapidly diminishing light sources can keep them safe.

Magnet says it plans to release Vanishing On 7th Street theatrically in February of 2011.